Professor’s lifelong climate mission

The professor, who argues that scientists never retire, has long championed the need for Australians to respond positively and with enthusiasm to the dilemmas arising from climate change.

Recently, my wife and I were at Coolum Beach for our grandson’s third birthday and being just 15 minutes away from the professor’s home, I arranged to meet him and record an episode for my podcast, “Climate Conversations”.

Arriving at his apartment, the only things to stand between him and the beach is a quiet road and some sand dunes, it became obvious he lived alone.

Can I explain that? No, but a home with a female touch has a different nuance; men, to seems, lean toward brutal practicality where everything is within easy reach, while women bring a sense of decorum combined with the sense of ease men seek.

Professor Lowe and his late wife lived and worked as academics in Brisbane, visiting the Sunshine Coast four or five times a year, but upon retirement decided to reverse those arrangements to live in Marcoola.

Discussing how each of us should attend to Earth’s deteriorating environment, Professor Lowe said, first, we should pay attention to our personal carbon footprint, using public transport, walking or cycling where possible, change our diet making it more “local”, reduce our intake of meat and wear clothes appropriate to the weather.

I recall seeing the professor at a book festival at Cooroy, again in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, when he was wearing a bright Hawaiian-like shirt pointing out that most offices in Australia are cooled to allow men to wear a jacket and tie, while more sensibly dressed women were forced to put on a cardigan.

However, the professor, who has written numerous books about climate and environmental issues, and edited others, is more than his academic credentials - he’s a chorister and plays cricket.

His unit featured an array of cricket paraphernalia, including a much sought-after Baggy Green, a cap that only goes to those who represented Australia in Test Cricket.

Although he had apparently been a frighteningly fast bowler as a young man, his somewhat slower paced deliveries saw him included in the over seventies Test team to tour England, hence the baggy green.

Writing, researching and teaching, which had been his primary role, can be lonely and somewhat isolating, and he believed it critical to align yourself with a team effort, in his case, cricket and singing with a choir.

Everything in the professor’s home came with a story, including the picture of him with the then Prime Minster of Australia, John Howard.

An independent panel had been appointed to choose the PM’s Environmentalist of the Year and it had settled on Ian Lowe.

He considered rejecting the award, not wanting to be seen with a Prime Minister so insensitive to Australia’s environmental needs.

But the professor decided to accept after hearing that the PM’s department has urged the independent panel to reconsider its nomination and find someone more in line with the views of John Howard.

The picture illustrates that then PM had to present the Environmental Award to the professor.

Professor Lowe appealed that people not only attend to their personal carbon footprint, but put pressure on their local Member of Parliament to step up and take action on climate change.

He said our parliamentarians were well-placed to make the necessary big changes to energy and transport, but mostly what they heard about were cost of living issues, education, fuel costs, and health matters and, as he said, “It’s the squeaking wheel that gets the grease”.

Several of the professor’s books are in my library (digital), but a search for another of his books, “The Big Fix” was met with “unavailable” and upon hearing this, Professor Lowe excused himself and returned with a copy, which he signed and handed to me.

Hopefully, more people have now heard of Ian Lowe and will expand their thinking through reading his books and so increase their understanding of our unfolding dilemmas.